captions by: caption colorado, llc (800) 775-7838 comments@captioncolorado.com well, this is what earl looked like this morning as it raced right past the outer banks of north carolina bringing with it high winds as high as 80 miles per hour, waves about 20 feet high right there on the beaches, and the storm is now on the fast track picking up speed to head north aiming for new england now. >> absolutely. right now it's near ocean city and the maryland coastline. we'll get an update live. we have reporters on stand by. first, let's get the latest from earl with meteorologist lynnette charles. when's the latest? >> not a bunch of change as of now. it's still sustained as a category 2, winds at 105. check out the headlines right now. we still do have the tropical storm warning. nothing's changed with that. the wind's 30 to 60 miles per hour and the waves 8 to 15

9:01 am

feet. we still do have that coastal flood advisory on the bay. check out maryland's radar. oh, yeah, things are getting interesting now. we have ocean city. we are getting lighter rain in here, and we've got that a little earlier this morning, but really now we are starting to see some of the moderate bands moving in. you can see that right here in the yellow. as we look farther to the east, this is the squall line justin was talking about earlier that he said he could see offshore in the distance. we're waiting to see if this makes its way in or if we get that before that comes in here. heavier rain across the area. we'll keep our eyes on the lookout for that. here's hurricane earl and the 105 sustained winds moving to the north-northeast at 16 miles per hour. the difference is now that 169 miles, because it is moving, that's getting knocked down some. south-southeast of ocean city, maryland, and it is a category

9:02 am

2. so we're looking at the wind field here. once again, we are talking about a tropical storm. this is starting to slide up, like you said, heading up into new england. so wear looking good as we head into 2:00, 3:00 this afternoon. we should be out of the woods as of then. so we can really enjoy the weekend that's going to be coming up. check out this beauty here. let me get out of the way so you can see a hurricane 3d scan. this is what it looked like yesterday. so we're flying up and over looking down to the eye. yesterday we could see into the atlantic. then we pull out some. then you will see what's going to happen now. you see how tall it was and now how it weakened? now it's starting to weak an i little bit. that's from yesterday to today, and we're looking at definite weakening conditions. as we check out the hurricane storm tracker once again, the center extends out 205 miles.

9:03 am

that's what we'll be seeing as we go into time. 5:00 is out of here. that's what we lake to see. let's -- we like to see. let's toss it back to you. we know that hurricane earl would pose a huge risk. how much was expected on the eastern shore and was it going to be something really to worry about? that's why we sent a team down there. we'll send it now to our team coverage. justin, good morning. >> hey, megan, look. the water's just coming up. once the squall lines come in, you can see the water literally was 20 yards become away from us, and now just coming back up. in fact this is gary, the weather watcher that i've been e-mailing back and forthwith for years. we just met today. >> we had something planned back in february, but the blizzards came. >> reporter: that's right. what do you think of the storms so far? >> i thought it could have been a little better. >> reporter: we're here dressed up and somebody's jogging

9:04 am

behind us. that's dedication. >> i thought it would be better than this. if that rain band makes it in -- >> let me clarify better for a weather watcher means worse for everybody else. gary pointed this out. if you can see that off in the distance, there are two boats. we're trying to figure out because they are going out in tandem. we think those are coast guard looking for something because they are there together and been sitting in the same spot for roughly the last 10, 15 minutes. we're getting pounded with the little sand, which are like bbs. that right there if you heard it is a 31 mile-per-hour wind gust. things are gradually increasing as the squall line is offshore. as you are working the cameras, you can seat waves are about 8 to 10 feet. the farther one's breaking out about 15 to 17 feet. as lynnette said it's just a matter of that squall line that i've been watching on my personal radar.

9:05 am

i know you've been watching back in the studio literally sitting right offshore. a little piece occasionally makes it onshore. assateague island farther south with the heavy stuff. we're dealing with the strongest winds right now. it's the best thing for ocean city because we're approaching low tide. as you saw when we first started this little hit, occasionally that push of water will come up, and we're probably sitting another 20 yards from the seawall. that is it. if we get one push of tropical storm force winds, we'll start lapping up that against the seawall and the boardwalk. we're live in ocean city. back to you in the studio. ocean city, we're seeing the high winds and rough surf. ocean city is not taking a direct hit. to find out how the resort town is holding up, let's go up to the boardwalk at 17th. here she is, joce sterman.

9:06 am

i imagine you have a lot of company up on the boardwalk now. >> reporter: everybody wants to see what's happening with earl now. they want to get the rain in the face, the wind, all of that stuff. so justin was mentioning the coast guard boats before. we will talk to you in a minute telling you about the coast guard boats. this is not serious weather. for the coast guard, they want to do training with this. the boats out there are doing training. they want to get out in the rough surf and see what it's like. when you can get out and surf like this, the coast guard will take the opportunity to do that. so talking real world experience, everybody here in ocean city wants to feel earl. we are finally getting a real taste of what this storm can bring. we're getting higher winds than before. we're getting nailed with some of this storm which is fun for us. people in ocean city had to do a little preparation for this. we saw folks out this morning. they wanted to come out and see it before the sun was up.

9:07 am

check out what these people had to say. as the minutes ticked by, the watch for earl is on. >> wanted to get up at high tide to see what was going on. we're just checking it out. >> reporter: rob was supposed to leave this morning but instead he's staying a few extra days to see his first hurricane. >> i wanted to see he what it was about. >> reporter: this morning, earl had winds of 23 miles per hour. not huge but strong enough to stir up the surf in a big way. >> you can see the waves getting bigger and bigger because the whole pier started to shake. >> reporter: bill has a place down on the ocean so he's seen storms like this come and go. as for earl, he's not impressed what with a he's seen so far. >> usually, if you have a storm here it's not blowing that bad. >> reporter: now things are really picking up. the weather is getting a little nasty. we're going to talk to people

9:08 am

on the beach patrol. tell us what's the situation here, captain? the beach is not officially closed? >> that's right. we've closed the sea gates to keep the sand and surf off the boardwalk but not keeping people off the beach. we're just restricting water activities because it's dangerous right now with the surf and rip currents. >> you are not as much worried about today because this weather is nasty. you are more concerned about the weekend. >> absolutely. today people look at the ocean and can say it looks nasty, and it's not inviting. tomorrow will be the most incredible day of the summer. the hurricane will suck away the clouds and humidity. it will be a beautiful, sunny, beautiful day. when's left behind is the surf. we'll be again tomorrow evaluating in the morning and making a determination of what we can allow people to do safely in the ocean and if

9:09 am

necessary restricted. >> reporter: so you don't want to restrict swimmers on labor day weekend but we have to do what we have to do. we'll keep watching. we'll be here throughout the day with updates for you. for now, i'm joce sterman live in ocean city. back to you. >> thanks so much. hurricane earl by tomorrow morning will be making an impact on new england. you can see right now from the video many people on nantucket island and massachusetts spent much of yesterday boarding up their homes. same thing on cape cod, too. many tourists ended their vacation early to get out of earl's way. north carolina was the first place hurricane earl passed by along the east coast. despite the fact hurricane earl has weakened it it's moving north. with rhode island, new york, new england bracing for earl, emily schmidt is in kill devil hills with what people are doing to deal with hurricane earl. >> reporter: this is hurricane earl as it began to move past

9:10 am

atlantic beach, north carolina overnight. gusty winds, rain and rough ocean water. it's not as bad as many expected. it's brushing the outer banks as a category 2 storm as people spent days preparing for what was a category 4. >> purely and simply north carolina dodged a bullet. we are open and hoping for a tremendous labor day weekend. >> reporter: officials evacuated 100,000 tourists from the outer banks and closed the roads behind them. even though earl is no longer a major hurricane, it could still pose plenty of problems up the eastern seaboard. >> take this seriously and be prepared, but don't panic. >> reporter: the governor of massachusetts declared a state of emergency thursday. overnight, president obama signed an emergency disaster declaration that clear hes the way for federal response there. it mirrors the response to earl in north carolina. >> we'll be staging commodities such as water, food, as well as generators. >> reporter: fema set up a

9:11 am

staging area bringing in flatbed trucks loaded with generators and enough supplies to feed 50,000 people through the weekend. even though flights show the eye is much less defined, people from north carolina to cape cod aren't quite ready to blink just yet. the bridge that leaves here to atlantic beach is now reopened. very hope labor day travelers return to salvage this weekend. i'm elie schmidt, abc 2 news. >> you are invited to stay with us for continuing coverage of hurricane earl on the front page of the web site. you can find the latest of earl and how to check the progress. we'll also have a live chat going with many of you on discussing the storm, answering questions and providing the latest updates to you. log on to abc2news.com. you like a little walk and talk? >> very smooth. all right. enough about the rough waves,

9:12 am

the waves and wind. it's time to calm things down a little bit. let's go to oxford. >> i would love to. coming up, visiting one of the oldest towns in maryland relaxing right there on the water. then, we'll see how ocean city made it through the night and see if your labor day weekend plans will survive. some people say i'm obsessed with my chickens. but i like to think i'm just going beyond the call of duty. cock-a-doodle-dooooo! i do 22 more inspections than the government requires.

as a career prosecutor i made decisions on facts not politics. in washington, i'm trying to do the same. that's why i voted to crackdown on wall street and protect the bay. and why i voted against the $3 trillion budget, the big bank bailout, and against the health care bill. you see for me it's not about democrats or republicans it's about common sense and doing what's best for our families. maybe that's why i'm ranked one of the most independent members of congress. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message.

9:15 am

thanks for joining us. if you want to reach paradise, drive to oxford. >> and we'll get on a boat and take the ferry. from bellevue over to oxford. sherrie johnson will take us to the historic robert morris inn. >> reporter: from carrying horses and men in 1683 to cars and passenger hes hes in 2010, you are riding the oxford bellevue ferry. >> we have a great time meeting people from all over the world and providing transportation for commuters, for tourists and people who like to get out on the water. >> reporter: judy and her husband tom bought the ferry eight years ago. >> two engines, two propellers, two steering wheels. i turn around to use the other one behind me when i want to go the other direction. >> reporter: the ride lasts seven to ten minutes. >> sometimes we bring little people up into the wheel house

9:16 am

and let them steer. >> reporter: look who's smiling in the kitchen. chef mark who owns the historic robert morris inn in oxford. >> we decided it was time for a move. >> reporter: he moved into america's oldest operating inn. how's business? >> surprisingly well, actually. >> reporter: robert morris was the money man behind the revolution and bought this home in 1710. today it's home to relaxation. >> the folk hes were so happy to have the robert -- folks were so happy to have the robert more, back open. >> reporter: so with a slice of this and a dash of this, this is what you get. >> i always say it's like st. michaels was about 25, 25 years ago. it's kind of unstuffed, very quiet. -- untoughed, very quiet. people come here to relax. the rooms are colonial. we don't have any televisions and telephones. everybody has cell phones, but you can come here and relax

9:17 am

and get away from it all. >> that place is beautiful. >> that's where james michener took a room and wrote the beginning of the "chesapeake." >> wow. a lot of history there. hurricane earl stays out to sea. ocean city is 70 miles down the road. coming up, we check back in with justin berk. he's on the beachmontering earl. and we've seen the video. the waves are big, the winds are picking up so we'll check in with him in a moment. [ male announcer ] are you watching cable?

9:18 am

here's what you should be watching: your cable bill, because you could be paying way too much. stop spending more for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month. and here's a special bonus: you'll also get the fios tv movie package -- 60 premium channels, including starz and showtime -- plus epix -- free for 12 months. and now there's no term contract required, if you don't love fios you can cancel at anytime with no early termination fee. fios gives you the best channel lineup, superior picture quality and more hd; plus internet rated #1 in satisfaction, speed and reliability.

9:19 am

why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month. plus the fios tv movie package and epix, free for 12 months. with no term contract. call 1.877.797.fios. that's 1.877.797.3467. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.797.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. it's time for fios.

9:20 am

hurricane earl has already gotten to north carolina, to the outer banks and despite mandatory evacuations for some and others who decided to get out of the storm's way, others decided to watch mother nature put on a show. >> it's just the power is absolutely phenomenal. you know it's something you see every day and it changes so quickly. >> that's the power of mother nature itself. i think it's great. we didn't hesitate one bit to stick around and battle the situation here. i think we'll be okay. >> there were hurricane force winds in the outer banks overnight. still too early to see how much damage earl may have caused in

9:21 am

that area. ocean city was ready for anything but they were hoping there wouldn't be a monster of a hurricane. they will take what they are dealing with right now. it's not so bad. there is a lot of excitement and anticipation. that's where we see joce sterman live on the boardwalk. actually, we'll send it to justin. how's it looking? >> it's hard to tell us apart as it's all bearing down. we look the wrong way when the gusts come, they are like little bbs. the winds are averaging about 20, 25 miles per hour. we had a gust of 31 here. i will tell you what's interesting as you look over moo i shoulder, we've been watching this sea get higher and closer to the shoreline with those rain bands. we talk about the beganin' bands. they do just wrap around the

9:22 am

tropical system like earl. the heaviest of the rain has been just offshore. that has been one of the most frustrating parts at least here from a meteorological standpoint for the fact that we know there is a storm out there. all of the people here were expecting the storm. and you'd probably go about five miles south of here and watching the rain band hitting over towards the islands and they are getting hit with 40 mile-per-hour winds or stronger. you can probably hear the winds in the microphone and see the tall waves. it really is what's happening just offshore what's pushing that in. and occasional bands swing onshore. those squall lines that's where we take the water. right now, i'm probably about 20 yard as way from the squall line. all it takes is one or two of those squalls to start dishing that water up onto the seawall.

9:23 am

ocean city's designed to deal with stuff like this. they get nor'easters harder than we're getting right now sometimes. the number one concern is that the storm itself is not that bad. all of these buildings have been designed to handle this kind of wind averaging now about 25, 30 miles per hour. it's gonna get better but we're waiting for one or two of the squall lines that could just skip us, skip us, skip us over the next few hours. time frame is dicey and goes from now until noon or maybe 2:00 p.m. the center of earl then passes due east of us up the coast. the winds swing up to the west and we may end up with a nice sunset here which is not the case right now. okay. and basically that's it. you don't want to tempt mother nature. we're just waiting for something to lap up with the squall line and ease up into a

9:24 am

nice weekend. we have another live report coming up in a bit. justin berk in ocean city. back to you in the studio. >> why don't you come this way. >> yeah, justin, get out of that beach. richard sherr would love for to you stay home and watch his show coming up on sunday. it's labor day weekend. here's richard sherr with a preview of this week's show. >> reporter: hi, everybody. thank so you much. there is nothing to celebrate on this labor day not with one in six americans get something kind of government aid. 10 million americans receiving unemployment insurance. the labor picture is mighty bleak on this labor day weekend. plus, what are your shouts about president obama's 18- minute oval office address and why don't city states attorney jessamy, why won't he accept our invitation to square off against greg bernstein? sunday's panel is billy murphy,

9:25 am

sky woodward and scott peterson. we'll all see you sunday at 6:30 p.m. square off here on abc 2. have a great labor day weekend. back to you, guys. >> that's going to be a good show. >> it's always good. the wind is blowing, the waves are pounding and it is raining. >> coming up, we check in with our crews in ocean city to check out how hurricane earl is affecting maryland's coast. >> abc 2 is on the go and on the water this morning. [ male announcer ] are you watching cable?

9:26 am

here's what you should be watching: your cable bill, because you could be paying way too much. stop spending more for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month. and here's a special bonus: you'll also get the fios tv movie package -- 60 premium channels, including starz and showtime -- plus epix -- free for 12 months. and now there's no term contract required, if you don't love fios you can cancel at anytime with no early termination fee. fios gives you the best channel lineup, superior picture quality and more hd; plus internet rated #1 in satisfaction, speed and reliability. why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month. plus the fios tv movie package and epix, free for 12 months. with no term contract. call 1.877.797.fios. that's 1.877.797.3467. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.797.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. it's time for fios.

9:27 am

9:28 am

. all right. listen, we've been wavering on whether to dash to the ocean should have left last night, maybe this afternoon, maybe tonight. let's see if we can get the official green flag from joce sterman. when do you think the best time to leave would be from boston to miss all of this? >> we're told tomorrow will be gorgeous so once people heard that, you know the bay bridge will be clogged later this afternoon. the worst part is supposed to be gone by 2:00.

9:29 am

this weekend weather will not look anything like this, i promise you. check out these waves. tomorrow, it's not going to be nearly this nasty. these are not waves you want to swim in. these are not waves you even want to surf in. they are just no fun. tomorrow, though, once this thing is blown out all the way, we'll see blue skies. when we talked to butch a few minutes ago, he said they are not sure they will make a game- time decision whether or not it's safe enough to let swimmers into the water. obviously today it's not gonna happen. if you were thinking i'll go in and take a dip while hurricane earl is passing by, that is not gonna happen. the beach is open, though if you want to come down to see what's happening and stroll the boardwalk. they were out here at 4:30 this morning. some people setting their alarm clocks because they were expecting giant rain squalls, expecting huge winds when they walked out at 4:30 in the morning. we just haven't seen that. it has not started to get too

9:30 am

bad until the last hour or so where we had to hold on to our hats a little bit. even then, we're not talking a big major presence in ocean city. these guys knew ahead of time. it wasn't going to be that bad. we might have been looking for worse but we only have a couple of more hours to watch. i'm joce sterman live in ocean city. we'll head it back to lynnette. >> let's talk about what's going on right now. you under ocean city. let's show stats as of now. as you check out the weather bug, currently 76 degrees. been the same temperature all morning long. 75, 76, humidity at 100%. the dew point 76 and feels like 83. i'm going to say between 7 and 16 mile-per-hour winds out of the northwest. so let me show you what's going on now in terms of the beach

9:31 am

forecast because yes, we see that earl is still a category two. the winds are still sustained at about 105. it is a very weekendy day on tap and also we'll be seeing the clouds and showers around as well. as we go into saturday, though, we'll see plenty of of sunshine and also on sunday lots of sunshine as well with the temperatures looking good. as we check out the surf for today, 10 to 15 foot waves. so be on the lookout for that and things improve. let's send it over to jamie. >> stay tuned to abc 2 news and abc2news.com to see what's going on. we'll have a live chat continuing on to discuss the storm at abc2news.com. it's now 9:31 right now on "good morning, maryland." listen, if you want to see the chesapeake like you've never seen it before, take a

9:32 am

boat ride. sherrie johnson is live at the robert morris inn. >> reporter: i'm having a great time. just a nice place to get away from it all and just relax. yes, we caught one a couple of captains that provide boat tours on the chesapeake bay. people who love to tour lighthouses can spend hours on these tours. >> great day. >> reporter: the captain knows the bay. >> we'll head out to the lighthouse. >> along the way, we'll see the beauty of the bay. we slowed down to see the ostrich, a little worried they haven't flown yet. >> here we go, folks. >> reporter: and there it is, the leaning tower of lighthouse. >> i'm surprised it's still standing. >> reporter: blame it on the '70s. the captain tells the tail of 100 years ago. >> it landed on the cove.

9:33 am

the lighthouse keepers were inside when that happens. >> reporter: it's one scene after another. where are we going? >> wherever the wind takes us. >> reporter: jeff takes us around the island. >> it's really a quaint authentic place. >> reporter: just look around and daydream and take of the sun going down. >> we watch what most of the time is a beautiful sunset across the bay. >> reporter: two ways to get around the water. >> i can't imagine life without being on the water. i don't think it would be very much fun. >> reporter: and looking at this, neither can we. we are here in the fish mobile. this is so awesome. i've never seen any kind of vehicle with all of these fish inside of it. right now, kelly cox is joining me live here.

9:34 am

she is the director. tell me a bit about what you all have to offer. i've never seen anything like this. >> well, everybody in here is out of the chesapeake bay, including our sea horse which in the maryland portion we don't see very often. in virginia, of course they have lots of them. we also have the atlantic croaker which the common name is hard head. good eating fish. our striped bass, of course, and our spots. these guys are 2-year-old horseshoe crabs, and this is an adult. >> reporter: oh, wow. oh, my goodness, that looks -- ew. >> this is the mouth. this is the male. he has claspers. >> reporter: oh, my god. >> he's very prehistoric but it's good stuff for us. we use him for different things medically. of course go terps diamondback

9:35 am

terrapins, snapping turtle, eel, crabs and oysters and our box turtle. so what we do is we travel around to schools and to events, birthday parties and things like that and carry the message of stormship in the bay. by introducing people and letting them touch the animals in the bay, we hope to foster stewward ship of the bay. we have different messages of, you know, you can do x to like turning up the water while brushing your teeth. >> we've had kids from all over who some have never seen some of these animals. >> reporter: i've never seen some of the animals. a little grossed out right now, but that's okay, i've learned a lot. we still have more coming up from oxford at about 9:45. we are going to introduce you to the man who makes fabulous

9:36 am

ice cream. sherrie johnson, abc 2 news. >> she can't get off of that bus fast enough. that woman pulled out that one thing and that was it for sherrie. >> the state primary is ten day as way. we continue to introduce tout many candidates running for office. >> we'll introduce you to the person running for the state's attorney. you may not have heard her name because the other candidates continue to steal the headlines.

9:37 am

9:38 am

9:39 am

all right. we continue to introduce you to the candidates making the ballot. today, kelly swoope sits down with one of the democratic candidates running for baltimore city states attorney. kelly? >> reporter: joining me now is the democratic candidate for baltimore city states attorney. thank so you much for joining us. >> thank to you are inviting me he. >> reporter: tell me, what is the single most important issue facing the city right now? >> right now, i think that the people of baltimore need to regain faith in the criminal justice system, and when problems that are straightened out between the various elements of the criminal justice system have been addressed, then maybe this stop snitching mentality would be going and people would go back to being helpful to the police and court and prosecuting cases and making the city a safer place to live. >> reporter: what would do you in office to effect the greatest change improving quality of life of your

9:40 am

constituents? >> the office entails a lot of things, but all things go to education. and i think that every facet of the court system and the state's attorney's office can always do with an update in education and assistance and all of the people who come in contact with their office. i think the main thing is to let people realize that the system does work. we just have to make sure it works to our advantage. it's not the perfect system but the best system. >> what would you say the major asset is that you bring to the office? >> my training is probably among the biggest assets i would bring. the major emphasis on education i spoke of would come from my training as an elementary schoolteacher, which entails management, evaluating the

9:41 am

weaknesses and strengths of the students and determining the best ways to improve their performance. i carried those skills into the district court when i became an administrator there, and they were bringing a new system at the time and i was able to use my skills to train all of my personnel and to troubleshoot for all of the new problems that we were encountering while going into this new system. >> reporter: what is the single most important message you would like to convey to voters out there today? >> i want voters to know that i believe in them and i want them to believe in me. i want them to know that i live where these problems are. when i come out on my front, i see a lot of the complained of activities in the city. i've watched it develop. i've watched people trying to change it. i think we can really work together with someone who knows

9:42 am

what's going on and recognizes the obvious problems but a lot of the underlying problems that are becoming troublesome. >> what is the one thing voters don't know about you or maybe they should? >> i'm a daughter of baltimore, born, bred and educated. i come from the old baltimore family and we were trained from the cradle to serve the community to help wherever we can. we've been encouraged to go into various fields. my grandfather was a entrepreneur in baltimore who had several businesses. my cousin donald murray was the first black admitted to mercy maryland law school, so we have the interest of of law practice and legal activities brought in our lives at a very early age.

9:43 am

>> reporter: cheryl, thanks for joining us. good luck to you. >> thank so you much. in high definition... ...bam! it was like, "wow!" we had been cable tv subscribers for a brief period of time

9:44 am

and had a really bad experience. [ male announcer ] why settle for cable? now you can move up to fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month, with no term contract required. the installation of fios was very simple. very straightforward. [ mr. donovan ] we have more choices. so many more high-def channels. and the internet access is fantastic. [ male announcer ] call now and we'll add a special bonus: the fios tv movie package plus epix, free for 12 months. [ mr. donovan ] there's always something on fios for the kids. my daughter's show is always on. [ male announcer ] save $430 in the first year. get fios for a super-low $99.99 a month plus the fios tv movie package and epix, free for 12 months. [ mr. donovan ] ya, there are definitely times that i sit back and think, "oh my god, what a picture we have here." i can never go back. [ male announcer ] call 1.888.884.fios. that's 1.888.884.3467. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. [ mr. donovan ] fios is made for families like ours.

9:45 am

we are live in one of the oldest towns in the state, oxford. >> population less than a thousand. now 1001 because sherrie johnson is live on the go. i thought you would run off that bus with all those fish in

9:46 am

there. >> reporter: i felt like it. has what a little squirmy for me. now onto the yummy part. we are here with victor and susan bar low here with the scottish highland creamery. he makes his own ice cream. yay, i love this. i understand you have over 600 recipes. which one's the most popular and least favorite? >> coffee flavored and birthday cake is popular as well. the least favorite, tuna was not a good flavor. i made tuna ice cream and it didn't go well at all. >> reporter: i would image than is not a popular one. let's give judy a cone here. judy bidl er is the owner -- bixler is the owner. tell me about some of the fun stuff. >> we had 18 mini cooper as

9:47 am

board that normally only holds 9 vehicles. we've also donated the ferry to charity and we've had a ferry boat race. we battled against two paddle wheelers and they won. so my husband is disgraced. so we'll do it again next year to raise money for charity. that's a lot of fun. >> reporter: it sounds like it. pick up your ice cream cone there. don't say we don't treat you well. and here we have chef mark. he is here with us, the owner of the robert morris inn. you bought the place about three months ago. what's going through your mind owning the oldest inn in the nation? how exciting? >> we're keeping it as it was. you haven't had to do to much. we have beautiful rooms and it's very regional, you know? we're serving this fantastic  crab cake and only using the best crab cakes that the eastern shore has to offer. this weekend should be great

9:48 am

provided we get this hurricane out of the way. >> that is so right. debbie doddson here, the director of tourism of talbott county. you have a lot of exciting things going on here. what's going on this weekend? >> it is the first annual monte alexander jazz festival starting tonight. the jazz conversation tomorrow afternoon with bell egger and monty alexander. if you love boats, come to talbott county. it is the boat auction at the chesapeake bay maritime museum. if you can't make it this weekend, come september 24 to the 26th for the chesapeake film festival. or if you love cars, september 26th is the concourse. >> reporter: you guys have so much going on here. i've got to tell you. the inn is so quaint and so relaxing. just a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle.

9:49 am

>> absolutely from baltimore, philadelphia, it's on a stone's throw. we've got great food here, lovely lodgings and great, comfortable oops as well. >> reporter: -- comfortable rooms as well. >> reporter: we see people out here enjoying their breakfasts. >> we have this wonderful terrace now that we've created. everyone wants to sit out there. we have a lovely casual fine dining restaurant. >> reporter: wonderful. thank you all. victor, don't forget to make my cone. i like vanilla and chocolate, please. there's a lot going on as you can see. they can't leave me out. there's still more to come on "good morning, maryland" at 9:00. stay with us.

9:50 am

9:51 am

9:52 am

good morning, everyone. happy friday to you. we are watching earl because earl is getting closer and closer, but you know what? the big story is now we've been watching this squall line for, i would say like the past three hours, and it really hasn't moved in. this is our storm. like justin said this is what you want to move in if you want the brunt of it.

9:53 am

it's not doing so. we'll still watch it. this is the storm right here. let's zoom in because i want to show you the moderate rain that did start to move in across the area. ocean city right now where justin is. just light rain, lighter rain. as of now, we are not getting this. we'll watch to see if this moves in. let's zoom in tighter. around princess ann and to the south here, all in all, we're in the lighter reines specially as we slide back farther around the ocean city area. so let me go ahead and show you what's going on in terms of the tracker. so hurricane earl has not changed whatsoever. we've been a category 2 all morning. we've had the winds sustained at 105 miles per hour moving north-northeast at around 16. that hasn't changed, either. of course the mileage has changed because this is is

9:54 am

moving. now it's at 169 south-southeast of ocean city, maryland. and as i step out of the way, the track goes on here and we under the tropical storm force winds. with that, that's the only thing we're going to see. it extends about 200 miles out. we're getting those wind gusts. we're also going to be seeing high surf and even beach erosion as well. the good news is that this slides right out of here and weakens as we go into 2:00, 3:00. we should be out of the woods. so that's exactly what we like to see. we still have our labor day weekend on tap. no need to cancel any plans because we'll be looking at good stuff here. once again, these are the hurricane force winds right here in the middle, the bull's- eye. we are on the tropical storm force winds and out of here by 5:00 looking really good. and this is your forecast as we go into time. plenty of sunshine in the forecast. we do have a front that will work its way through, but the only thing that front's gonna do is drop down the temperatures. we are looking good as we go

9:55 am

into tomorrow. the temperature will be right around 78. in the meantime today 90 degrees. you know what? this could fluctuate. more clouds, month are rain. if we see more sunshine, we'll reach the 90 degree mark. let's head over to justin berk with the big story. i'm talking about how the rain bands won't move in. what are you thinking? >> reporter: it really is. i know everyone wants to see some impressive pictures at home. some people in ocean city are just happy. it's not that bad. i see dark clouds to our west. i see them racing by. it is impressive to watch the low-lying clouds with the winds just above the surface probably at tropical storm force. down here we're looking. you can't hear the whistle of my anemometer. that is not quite tropical storm force but it's strong. over my shoulder as you can see, we've got high waves. now you are getting the spray off of the top of those waves. really show the influence of

9:56 am

the winds. the dark clouds off shore that is the main rain band that you've been talking about. that's the one that probably contains those tropical storm force winds 40 plus. it is just offshore. it's been teasing us. it's been toying with us all day long. megan, lynnette, jamie, i've got something for you. the sea is angry today, my friends -- >> oh, seinfeld. >> like an old man trying to get soup from the deli. i waited all morning for that line. [ laughter ] >> george costanza, right? >> reporter: that's right. >> i know my seinfeld. >> reporter: we've got beach patrol out there. they are combing and making sure that everyone who's out here is just trying to be a voyeur and not trying to be a venturer into the water. i don't think there's been many people trying to do that.

9:57 am

there's a ton of people out here trying to soak up the scene. it's impressive. the waves are pushing that 10 foot flesh hold or -- threshold or higher. some of the buoys are pushing 19 feet off shore. we are live in ocean city just under the threshold are tropical storm force winds. we missed the flooding. we've still got a few more hours and will be here watching it later today. back to you in the studio. >> just be careful. we want you back here in one piece. >> be safe. that's what we stress. >> even the birds blew in from sarasota. >> we were on the air at 4:00 a.m. it's such a different picture. >> exactly. let's go enjoy the labor day weekend, all right? >> i like that idea. >> keep safe.